Rta To Cta: Where Are The Cops We Paid To Hire?

June 06, 1986|By Gary Washburn, Transportation writer.

Regional Transportation Authority Chairman Samuel Skinner said Thursday that the failure of Chicago Transit Authority and city officials to fashion an agreement that would result in improved security on CTA buses has left him

``frustrated.``

He blamed the impasse on bureaucracy.`

On a related issue, Skinner said the May 25 incident in which a child was fatally stricken on a Fullerton Avenue bus illustrated the need for a new emergency radio channel.

The RTA allocated $5 million to the CTA six months ago to fund the creation of a new Chicago Police Department bus security unit. As of Thursday, Skinner said, ``we don`t have the cars, we don`t have the people and we don`t have an agreement.``

Officials in City Hall and the Chicago Police Department agreed to the idea of a special unit to patrol bus routes in high-crime areas, but a formal contract is being held up by a dispute over whether the members of the unit will be deployed by the CTA or the police department.

``I suggest the time is now to cut through the bureaucracy,`` said Skinner, who added that he didn`t know which party was to blame for the lack of progress.

CTA officials have expressed optimism that an agreement will be reached, but they estimated that the 75-officer unit will not be formed until mid-August, about 45 days behind schedule. Michael Cardilli, CTA chairman also has been seeking assurances that funding for the unit in future years will come from the RTA. Skinner said he supports the idea, but gave no guarantees.

An RTA security consultant recommended last year that the CTA have a separate radio channel for emergencies and Skinner asserted that the incident involving rookie bus driver Ben Perry and 9-year-old Nicole Hobson last week gave a dramatic demonstration of why the channel is needed.

After the girl suffered a heart attack, Perry tried to call the CTA control center for help. But transmissions from other buses blocked his call and he refused to deviate from his route to take the girl to a nearby hospital. A fellow passenger carried the girl to the hospital, but she died about a hour later.

``I would assume if we did have a channel reserved for emergencies that bus driver may have been able to get through, but if that would have made a difference or not, I don`t know,`` Skinner said.

Nicole`s doctor said she probably would not have survived even if Perry had driven her directly to the emergency room.

On Wednesday, Cardilli hinted he believes the present radio system is adequate. He said that Perry would have been able to reach control if he simply had kept trying to call and Cardilli offered as proof an incident earlier this week. CTA employees successfully radioed for help Tuesday when they found a woman in labor in a car near a South Side bus garage.

Cardilli also cited the difficulty in obtaining rights to use additional channels from the Federal Communications Commission.

But Skinner countered that the RTA ``has some high-powered consultants in Washington on our payroll and I am sure they would be glad to intercede with the bureaucracy and work that out.``

The RTA is a planning and financial oversight agency responsible for the CTA and two other operating subsidiaries.